Introduction

Hello everyone. I decided to register on the forums because I have recently enlisted in the army and I'm looking forward to serving. I figured this website would be a valuable source of information for future soldiers like myself.

A little about myself; I enlisted after college because I have always wanted to serve my country, particularly through the Special Operations community. After extensive research, I decided to enlist with an 18x contract. I leave on 20130311 for OSUT at Fort Benning, Georgia. My degree is in Political Science with a minor in Psychology.

I have already registered on professionalsoldiers.com and have been using their site to help prepare for selection. Currently I am following the workout set forth by the Special Operations Recruiting Battalion, interspersed with my normal jiu-jitsu classes and extensive running/ruck-marching. I welcome any advice from members on these forums and I look forward to starting my journey down the pipeline.

Greetings Spartan, welcome to the site and congrats on a great career choice!!... I don't think we can offer anything else that the guys on professionalsoldiers.com have not given you. Those guys have it all locked down and Im sure their PT will drill conditioning into your muscles and joints for the long march!.. I would in general focus on PT which Im sure the guys on professionalsoldiers.com have gone through with you. I would also do as much rucking as I can and get into land navigation. I understand its a big element on guys washing out of Special Forces.

This might be of use to you, about 7 years ago, I did an IQ test and was recalled for a second one to a different location. I got the location wrong and had to run in 30 degrees heat (A MAJOR sunny Day in Ireland) about a quarter to half a mile and arrived 3 mins late and just got into my chair when folks started the time speed tests. I completed it noting my IQ had dropped 14 points nothing I was sweaty, uncomfortable and panting from the run, not to mention embarrassed and stressed about being late for the test. I thought in retrospect about which was my "real" IQ, the one when Im relaxed and comfortable and not missing any time at the start or the other one where I was tired, stressed and uncomfortable against extra time constraints my error had put on me. I think the latter drop in IQ was more accurate leading me to believe that if you can put your body under pressure and stress... and then challenge your IQ, then your doing a workout for your body and mind. Try to get into a situation which you can workout, and get a real tired feeling going and lead directly onto a practice AVSAB. If you are like me, you will find it difficult to think at a high level of rationalisation and thought whilst your body and mind are tired and stressed... but also, the more you practice, the easier it gets... Whilst I was never in Special Forces, Im convinced (on a hunch) that this would help...

Outside of that, Ive nothing more for you, do your research well and +2 to what the Chief said.. best of luck!...

Keep us posted on how you get on and any questions feel free to ask us here and if we can help, we surely will...

Best Regards,

Exo

Tenants of Bushido;

‘We should never obsess about if we are going to die, but instead focus on how we live as those whom live an honorable life will always die a glorious death.’

Thanks for the good wishes. Also, that's an interesting point you bring up Exo1. I've heard that under physical stress your accuracy firing a weapon can decrease dramatically, and I would imagine this applies to mental performance as well. Hopefully with enough physical conditioning that problem can be overcome, seeing as mental clarity appears to be an important tenet of the SF mission.

I'll be sure to let you know how things turn out. For now I'll probably be reading more and posting less. My primary purpose is to peruse the forums and just gather as much knowledge as possible. With that being said, thanks for the greetings!

Continue with your preparations. By now I'm sure you're aware of the wash-out rate at SFAS.

Proud Dad of a US Army Airborne Ranger SFC
Retired US Army 1SG/MSG, Airborne Infantry, G-3, Instructor
Former USN - Submarines, USS Chopper (SS 342) & Navy Diver, UDT 21
I was a Soldier. I am a Soldier. I will always be a Soldier.

Spartan,
You are correct, physical stress on your body will translate into reduced mental cognition which will reduce your focus and thus your ability to shoot straight... literally and figuratively speaking... bear in mind that such stress reduces your cognitive ability thus your ability to think and rationalise which leads to many things including a lack of attention to detail which can get you dead before you get off a single shot... this is why those involved in high stress jobs in the military need more time to train up to operational proficiency and need more time when operational to decompress... the devil is literally in the detail and not having a 100% head in the game approach can get very deadly very fast...

Best of luck in your enlistment and keep us posted with questions and progress...

Best Regards
Exo

Tenants of Bushido;

‘We should never obsess about if we are going to die, but instead focus on how we live as those whom live an honorable life will always die a glorious death.’